Sibling group leaders

Whether you are setting up a sibling group for the first time or have been running groups for many years, this section will give you guidelines and activities to help you run your group

Line ups

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Purpose

A good "Icebreaker" to start a first session with as it mixes the siblings up and helps them to say something about themselves and find out little bits about each other in a very relaxed way. It also uses up a bit of energy.

You will need

A bit of space

How to do it

Announce a suitable topic and ask the siblings to make a continuum from one side of the room to the other, depending on their answer. Make it clear which side of the room is for which end of the continuum e.g. Youngest person at this side and oldest person on that side

Suggestions for topics could be:

  • Height
  • Age
  • First letter of their name
  • Who lives furthest from/nearest to the venue
  • How do you feel about being here.
  • Their opinion on some topical news item (for/against, or interested/bored)

Variations

A worker could interview each sibling as they stay in line e.g. 'where do you live?', 'why are you not keen to be here?'

Try doing it without speaking.

Lining up in height order, then numbering them off alternately is a good way of getting two balanced teams for a game